Oil for needs of revolution

Venezuela far not the unique country, life and which economy directly depend on oil. Incomes of oil branch make 35 % of the budget of the country, 30 % of gross national product and three quarters of all export of Venezuela. The state could not leave leading branch without the supervision, therefore now all oil is under vigilant supervision of president Hugo Chavez. He counts that under its management Venezuela becomes the country with the most considerable stocks of oil in the world. under a cap at Chavez Before nationalisation in 1976 oil deposits of the country were developed on the basis of concessions, and their owners among whom there were corporations of Great Britain and the USA, disposed of the extracted raw materials at own discretion and independently established the prices. Thus, foreign oil corporations managed to earn in Venezuela four times more than to the state. In 1969 Venezuela was one of initiators of creation of the OPEC which began to define the prices for oil independently that time and again led to world oil crises. In 1976 the president of the country Carlos Peres has nationalised petroleum industry, and all private companies of Venezuela have turned to branches of oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela S. A. (PDVSA). Thus the foreign companies have stopped working out of deposits and oil extracting not territories of the country. Then them, truth, have started up back, but already on the terms of agreements on production section. Now in territory of Venezuela 22 oil companies within the limits of joint ventures with PDVSA on the basis of so-called 32 operative service agreements which represent service contract contracts on drilling of search chinks, development of deposits or manufacture of synthetic oil work. Besides, there is also a cooperation on the basis of brave agreements on extraction section - now in their Venezuela operates eight. under the state control the oil branch existed rather easy, gradually increasing extraction, however in 1999 on a post of the president of the country the national favourite revolutionary Hugo Chavez has been selected. Almost all next years the population of Venezuela balances between civil war and massive strikes. However, Hugo Chavez`s arrival to the power has helped the OPEC from which thanks to a hard line of the Venezuelan president again began to be considered and fulfil its requirements. president Chavez has begun the presidency with change of the constitution and acceptance of the new law on bowels, having imposed the big restrictions on private workings out of oil deposits and strongly having increased taxes to energy and a payment for bowels - a royalty. Besides, according to the new law the state share in petroinvestigation and oil extracting has been established not below 51 %. According to experts, before election of this president at PDVSA there were all possibilities to become one of the largest manufacturers of oil outside of the Near East, having finished by 2010 daily manufacture of oil to 8 million barrels. For comparison: in 2004 extraction PDVSA has made 2,58 million bar./ However Hugos Chavezs and the OPEC extraction have limited days. In September, 2000 president Chavez has organised the conference of heads of the states entering into this organisation second in the history of the OPEC (the first has passed in 1975 in Algeria) on which has acted with a keynote speech in Venezuela. “ this year we have revived the OPEC. We have again forced all to be considered and speak with it about it. When we are uniform, we are invincible “ - the Venezuelan president has declared. About those countries which have no possibility independently to extract oil, Hugo Chavez has responded so: “ Let pay for economic gains which it are brought by oil use “. And it is valid, not without the aid of the Venezuelan president that year the world prices for oil have considerably exceeded $30 for barrel that should please the OPEC. but it has lasted not for long. Already in the end of 2001 the oil prices have strongly fallen. From - for it in February, 2002 Venezuela even had to refuse a fixed rate of national currency because in the country dollars began not to suffice and budgetary deficiency almost in $8 billion As Hugo Chavez`s punishment was formed has dismissed all management PDVSA which, in turn, has accused the president of return of wrong orders - for example, the requirement to send oil in a state reserve in expectation of rise in prices, and all of them equally fell.

Plans of the president In the end of 2002 in the country the strike initiated by employees PDVSA has begun. Striking demanded preschedule carrying out of a referendum about Hugo Chavez`s trust. Date of its carrying out - has been already appointed on February, 2nd, 2003 also. However in 20 - h dates of January the Supreme court of the country has taken out the final decision: the preschedule referendum about trust to the president contradicts the constitution. Strike proceeded 65 days. In this time Hugo Chavez has appointed in board of directors PDVSA of close colleague Alfredo Rieru. In protest the board of directors was left by other seven councillors. Work of several oil refining factories and shipment in bulk-oil ports has stopped. the main importer of oil in the world of the USA which Venezuela sells 65 % of all volume of extracted oil, despite own large supplies, prefer to import it. The Venezuelan oil provides 14 % of the American import, conceding only to import from Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Canada. Investors have not considered in the beginning the Venezuelan crisis deserving great attention. But in two weeks after its beginning it became clear that opposition of president Hugo Chavez and opposition will be tightened, and reduction of the Venezuelan deliveries will make strong negative impact on the American market. however after the termination of strike and dismissal by Hugo Chavez`s decree of 18 thousand employees PDVSA the situation was quickly enough restored. As a whole for 2003 oil recovery in republic has made over 2,3 million barrels a day against 2,6 million for 2002, the quantity of the drilled chinks has made 615 against 958 in 2002. Besides, to the foreign companies the Venezuelan crisis has appeared even on a hand. Despite the big losses on territories of the country, the majority of the large corporations operating in territory of republic, - Shell, Chevron, Exxon, Eni, Statoil, Repsol, Total, BP and ConocoPhillips - have increased profit at the expense of a rise in prices for oil all over the world. Has suffered from crisis only PDVSA. the Foreign companies and now continue cooperation with Venezuela. Among them and Lukoil Overseas, come to republic last year. As have told in a press - company service, since October, 2005 LUKOIL takes part in project realisation in which frameworks geological stocks of hydrocarbons of zones of petroliferous pool &quot are defined and will be certificated; Bnin - 3 “ located in a belt of heavy oil of the river Orinoco. It will be the first joint venture PDVSA with the Russian company which will be engaged in rehabilitation of deposits in staff of Anzoategi where it will be possible to extract to 50 thousand barrels of oil a day. Despite astable conditions in Venezuela, experts consider conditions for work in its territory of the foreign companies favourable enough. “ even provided that under the law the republic can demand to 35 % of the participation in the project, the western concerns will be all the same interested in Venezuela more than, for example, in Russia, - the general director of the Center of oil and gas business Evgenie Hartukov considers. - There respect executive power. Besides, geological risks there it is less, than in Russia “. As to plans of president Hugo Chavez he seriously expects to transform the country into the most powerful oil power of the world. Now Venezuela extracts 149 million tons of oil year, or 4 % of world extraction. According to the report of the ministry of oil of republic, oil stocks in four basic pools - Maracaibo, Falkon, and Oriental - make Apjure 80,6 mlrd barrels (on this indicator it takes the sixth place in the world - between the United Arab Emirates and Russia). Besides, it is supposed to find out 236 more mlrd barrels in the east of the country in a so-called belt of heavy oil of Orinoco. If these assumptions prove to be true, on oil stocks Venezuela will overtake Saudi Arabia which takes on this indicator the first place in the world. EKATERINA GRISHKOVETS

Venezuela Capital - Caracas. Territory - 916,4 thousand in sq. km. The population - 24,39 million persons. Gross national product in 2004 - $145,2 billion oil Stocks in Venezuela - 6,5 % from world (the sixth place in the world). The proved stocks of natural gas - 4,1 trln cubic m. On this indicator Venezuela takes the eighth place in the world. The largest oil fields - Maracaibo, Lagunillas, Buchakero, El Furrial, Tsentro, Milata, the Llama. in 2004 it is extracted nearby 2,7 mlrd barrels from which nearby 1,5 mlrd have been sent for export. The gain from oil export in 2004 has made $29,8 billion the Basic directions of export - Northern and the South America. It is annually extracted nearby 30 mlrd by cubic m of gas. All extracted gas is consumed in the country. the oil sector of Venezuela makes one third of gross national product of the country, half of budgetary incomes and 80 % of export. Monopolies for all works connected with investigation, working out, extraction, transportation, storage, processing, sale and export of oil, oil products and gas, belong to the state company PdVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela S. A). In Venezuela also work ExxonMobil, CNPC, Shell, Statoil, Union Texas. Since October, 2005 the Russian LUKOIL takes part in realisation joint with PDVSA the project on the petroliferous site located in a belt of heavy oil of the river Orinoco.